Planning advice for 1st evening please

Li-sa

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 28, 2008
Hi,

Our flight should arrive at 5.55pm on 3rd Aug and we've booked the Magical Express transfer. We're not sure what we can realistically expect to do after arriving...

Sould we go to OKW and check in, or head directly to Epcot (open till 9pm) or the MK (open till 11pm)?
If we check into OKW at 10/11pm will get a worse room than if we check in earlier?
 
By the time you clear customs and get to OKW it will be getting on for 7pm. You will find that you are beginning to get tired as for you on UK time it will really be midnight. We tend to shower, get something to eat at our resort, unpack, explore the resort a bit, looking in the shop is always fun and try to go to bed around 10pm (local time) so that we can enjoy our first full day.
 
Honestly, I'd head to OKW and then check in, before heading over to MK. I doubt you'd get a worse room checking in later on but I'd do it earlier to get it over with, to get your luggage sorted etc etc....and get your tickets, as they're usually loaded onto your KTTW card :upsidedow
 
If you land on time at 5.55 you are very unlikely to be at OKW before 7.30 or 8 pm. Add on another 30 minutes to check in, get your things to your room, freshen up and go and wait for a bus and you are pushing towards 9 pm. Then you still need to get to the park. Assuming you haven't eaten at the resort as you won't really have had time, when you get to MK (Epcot is probably not going to happen). Now you are hungry and fiddling with finding some CS. It is really a waste of a park entrance, unless you have more days on your ticket than days at the parks.

Quite honestly, I would hop on the boat from OKW and head for DTD. Have a nice dinner, walk around and come back when you are ready. You will have a good sleep and getting up early the next morning to be at a park for opening time will see you achieve 5x more in the first hour than you will if you arrive at MK in the evening.

We were due into MCO at 5.55 pm last year. We had always landed early afternoon before. Our flight was delayed so we only landed after 6.30 pm. We sailed through customs with no wait, our luggage was amongst the first off the carousel, I know MCO well enough that we went straight through to magical express with our luggage and found our bus waiting. We departed within 5 minutes of boarding. Despite all this in our favour it was past 8 pm by the time we got to our room. We usually go to DTD on our arrival night but last year we skipped that even. I am a late night person and so is my DD but we just didn't have the energy to go out.
 
We will be arriving about a similar time next month if no delays, it will be choice of 2 things depending on time either a walk around DTD or to Publix for some drinks and snacks. Then bed for a good early start.
Only once have we gone into a park on arrival day, Xmas day 2008, arrived mid afternoon on an early flight so thought we would go into MK to see Xmas day fireworks, only just managed to stay in for them, we were wrecked, I think it was about 11pm but really thats 4am UK time.
 
Thanks for the replies...looks like I was being over optimistic on getting to the parks the day we arrive!

Where is the Publix shop? DTD and some shopping for essentials sounds like a good idea!

Will we be able to see the Epcot fireworks from OKW or DTD?
 
Hi,

Our flight should arrive at 5.55pm on 3rd Aug and we've booked the Magical Express transfer. We're not sure what we can realistically expect to do after arriving...

Sould we go to OKW and check in, or head directly to Epcot (open till 9pm) or the MK (open till 11pm)?
If we check into OKW at 10/11pm will get a worse room than if we check in earlier?

Definitely time for bed Zebedee!
 
The only time we hea dof into the parks on the evening of our arrival is if we get the early flight out and there are EMH on somewhere. But you wil be tired and you should try and stay upp and go to bed around 10 - gets you right into usa time.
 
I would be another one voting for a visit to DTD. If you are hungry - which I guess you will be - I would recommend Earl of Sandwich. I have also heard that wolfgang Puck is pretty good but we haven't actually eaten there ourselves.
It is also a wonderful way to get that first taste of Disney when you arrive without all the hustle and bustle of a park near to closing time.
 
Realistically something to eat and bed.

We were delayed in October and landed about 6pm. We hired a car but it was at least 8pm when we checked in to okw. Then drove to the room/got luggage into room (2nd floor no lift).

We just drove next door to POFQ foodcourt for a pizza and then bed. We were shattered.

Remember to allow time for getting off plane, customs, bag collection from carousel. Unless you are travelling light and can take your luggage on the monorail realistically you will have to do the bag drop and wait again for your cases at the second carousel. Then wait for magic express.

At OKW rooms are spread out - think they take you in a little cart to your room with your luggage.

Without a car i'd just eat at the resort and then go to bed.

We could hear but not see the epcot fireworks from OKW.
 
I agree with above posters that all you will want is a meal and your bed!!!
I see you have been to DLRP a couple of times, but is this your first trip to WDW? If so, let me warn you it is nothing like DLRP and nothing is within walking distance of anything else so you have to reckon travelling time on buses etc into your timings.
You can see the Epcot fireworks from DTD but probably not hear the music (but I may be wrong)
 
We will be landing at about 4.30pm and getting the ME over to our hotel.

I can't imagine we'll be at AKL before 7pm and the most we're planning is heading over to DTD to activate our APs and grab a snack.

I certainly wouldn't want to deal with park closing crowds and buses after travelling for a day and being 5 hours behind the real time!
 
It would be a trip to DTD for me too.

It's nice to wander around there on an evening and you'll be able to hit the Disney shops to get a small Disney fix before heading to the parks the day afterwards.

Get yourself something to eat as others have said and then have a stroll around before an early one (Florida time) off to bed.
 
We're due to land at 5pm in September and so will hopefully be at POFQ by 7pm, 8 at the latest. All we're going to do is check in, get a pizza from the foodcourt and enjoy the resort. We considered DTD but I don't think I'd make it! Though...maybe, just for an Earl of Sandwich and a Goofy's Glacier, possibly topped off by a Ghiradelli's!
 
When we arrive on the later VA flight we check in and unpack then grab a quick bite to eat before bed. Always asleep around 10pm on the first night as we have been up for close to 19/20hrs by then.

We used to always head to DTD and Earl of Snadwich but now we grab something from the resort or a close by resort.
 
This is walkable from DTD, we used Waynes map which was good. needed taxi back we all the stuff, now thats a story, the cab driver could barely speak English and truned out he didn't know were OKW was !

Nice to see you on here again Rob. :goodvibes Where the heck have you been?!
 
We always go for food as easy as we can, DTD usually the best. Then bed for us by 10pm at the latest! Means we can start to enjoy our holiday from day one :cool1:
 

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